Dreaded, Inc. v. St. Paul Guardian Insurance Co.

DICKSON, Justice.

Facing an environmental damage claim, the appellant, Dreaded, Inc., waited over three years to notify its insurer, the defendants-appellees (collectively referred to as "St. Paul"), and now seeks reimbursement for defense costs and expenses incurred during the pre-notice period. We affirm the trial court's grant of St. Paul's motion for summary judgment and hold that, as to claims seeking recoupment of an insured's pre-notice defense costs predicated on an alleged breach of an insurer's duty to defend, the insurer's duty to defend did not arise and prejudice is an irrelevant…